‘Pakistan ranks 117 out of 168 on World Corruption Index’

Dr Shahid Hassan Siddiqui says country loses Rs8,000bn to corruption annually

Owing to corruption in Pakistan, we annually lose Rs8,000 billion and as per Amnesty International’s World Corruption Index, our country ranks 117 out of 168 corrupt countries across the globe, renowned economist Dr Shahid Hassan Siddiqui said on Tuesday.

He was the chief guest speaker at a seminar, which was arranged in the conference room of the Department of International Relations, University of Karachi. During the event, he claimed that not a single penny would be recovered from the Panama case and he termed it a drama.

Dr Siddiqui was of the view that conflicts were fiscal deficit and current account deficit. He said the deficits were mainly because the government revenue was far less than its expenditures, while the imports too were higher than the exports.

“One major cause of these deficits is corruption and unprofessionalism. In the year 2011, major $25 billion exports were seen, whereas the number came down to $21 billion in 2017, but the government bats no eye.”

Dr Siddiqui maintained that billions of dollars come from overseas Pakistanis on account of growth but they are only being spent on consumption. As much as 79 percent of the entire amount sent from overseas is coming from US, UK, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

He mentioned that Pakistan’s GDP rate is 4.7 percent and it is the lowest among all the neighbours. The GDP rate of India is 6.5 percent, while it is five percent in Bangladesh.

He noted that Pakistan had taken about $7.2 billion from the IMF for the war against terrorism. He said Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had falsely showed a lower deficit than it actually was.

“The economy of Pakistan is showing good points at the current era, but this will lead to some serious issues afterwards.”

He also talked about tax amnesty schemes led by the government, saying that Pakistan was the only country where there was a tax on invisible properties as well.

Mentioning that the government of Pakistan along with the government of Switzerland was planning to obtain Pakistan’s money from Switzerland, he advised that the money should be brought to the country and must become a vast national treasure if it was brought back with five percent taxation.

Dr Siddiqui also discussed the education sector in details. He highlighted that in the year 2009 all political parties of Pakistan agreed on giving a seven percent budget to education in Pakistan, but when the Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz came into power, the total given to education was just 2.2 percent, that was not even half of that was decided.

He labelled it as “financial terrorism” against education. The next major issue he discussed was conspiracy in the banking sector. “The government should enhance tax revenues for national savings growth, whereas the current policy shows taking more aid and not enhancing revenues or national savings.”

Dr Siddiqui also discussed that Pakistan was at a prosperous geographical location with Thar coal, Hydel power plants and abundant agriculture and livestock that could help Pakistan climb up the stairs of clearing debts.

The growth of China exports from 2000-2016 went from $250 billion to $2,832 billion, while Indian exports increased from $40 billion to $260 billion during the same period, whereas Pakistan’s exports were just $9 billion in 2000 and in the next six years it went to $20 billion, which was far behind and had no match with the other two countries.

According to Dr Siddiqui, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a great project but it cannot be a game changer for Pakistanis. “It can quite end loadshedding in Pakistan and create a subtle infrastructure, but it can’t end unemployment or poverty though it can bring abundant of opportunities if grabbed on time.”

He believed that the CPEC could only act as a game changer when we enhanced skilled training, research and development. “We need to plan strategies and implement them in order to make the CPEC change our game.”

He pointed out that by the year 2050, China would be the country with the largest population and the largest economy followed by India, USA and Brazil. Meanwhile, he stated, Pakistan would have the sixth spot in terms of population, but 16th in terms of economy followed by Bangladesh that would be the seventh with respect to population but 23rd according to the economy.

While replying to a question, he said all incomes exceeding a limit must pay a certain tax.

“Pakistan’s economy should be documented and the amnesty schemes should be abolished. We should spend seven percent of the GDP on education and the banks must stop financing private companies.”

He urged that the education, food and shelter should be provided by the government, which would minimise the bridge between the rich and the poor. He also called for a permanent ban on IMF loans. “The entire amount coming from overseas Pakistanis should be national treasure. We need to look after all the sectors in order to grow.”